I, for one, love '80s and '90s names. Those were some great decades, and names from that era evoke a nostalgia that brings me happy memories. I think Erica is the best way to honor an Eric, and to me it would be fresh on a baby. As for the Arica option, are you pronouncing it exactly like Erica, or like uh-REE-kuh? If it is pronounced just like Erica, she will forever be correcting people on the spelling of her name. But if it's pronounced uh-REE-kuh, she will forever be correcting people on the PRONUNCIATION of her name. To me it would just get complicated! Arie is super cute though, either as a stand-alone name or as a nickname for any of the many Ar- names (Araminta, Arabella, etc.).

My name is Erica, and I didn't even recognize Arica. I first assumed it was pronounced ah-reeka, and then thought it was maybe a misspelling of Africa?
But...yes I do like the nickname Arie for Arica. It's cute.